God has created all of us "specifically to die". Death no more eludes us
than it does any baby who dies inside or outside of the womb.

And frankly, it's not as if we're somehow more special just because we live
longer lives than said babies - nor is God "done" with us after we die,
whether it's at 1 month or 100 years. The Christian message has been that
God has a plan and place for everyone, and that this plan isn't predicated
on living some long, healthy, happy life. In fact, I'd think the experiences
of Christ Himself would have made it clear that God's plan can include (and
often does include) a tragic, premature death. Once someone accepts that
even one particular tragic, early death can make total sense in the
Christian perspective, it illustrates how any death - even of a child in the
womb - can fit into a plan and purpose. Put another way, a dead child still
has value. Dying young, even too young to have been born, does not make a
person's existence somehow meaningless or pointless.

Personally, I don't "struggle" with the problem of pain or evil anymore, and
haven't for a long time. On the Christian worldview it makes complete sense
that there exists pain and death (even in abundance) in our universe (and I
don't think "evolution" adds much to that particular issue anyway). Frankly,
it's also justifiable in a jewish, muslim, or hindu worldview as well, and
probably other theistic views. In fact, it's death and evil is vastly more
problematic for atheists who seriously contend the world is so evil that no
good God would be responsible for it or willingly expose anyone to it, or
who for whatever reason still try to load words like "good" or "evil" with
meaning at all.

(Though, in response to David Clounch, I have no problem seeing destiny and
purpose in a world where evolution is true. I don't think TEs are
particularly hobbled on the question just by nature of their accepting
evolution. If anything they're hobbled because they simply, for whatever
reason, tend to avoid thinking and speaking in those terms - but that's not
a result of their believing in evolution, unless it's of evolution that was
ultimately/entirely unplanned and unguided, which seems very rare.)

> David C. said:
> â€œA pre-loaded universe only makes sense if it explains what your personal
> unique meaning is to the creator, and also explains your destiny, where you
> are going. It makes no sense to say a creator pre-loaded the universe to
> produce Bernie, and then have nothing to predict where Bernie is going. â€œ
>
>
>
> Hi David-
>
>
>
> I donâ€™t understand how anyone, and I mean anyone, can think God directly
> makes all people for His direct plans.
>
>
>
> Consider all the spontaneous abortions (naturally occurring), still births,
> birth defects, etc. God created all those people specifically to die? I
> myself had a daughter that died a few moments after birth, due to birth
> defects. I donâ€™t think that was Godâ€™s direct will (you will likely say His
> permissive will). And it is not just about my experience- it is multiplied
> my many times all over the world, even more in undeveloped nations (where
> even healthy babies and momâ€™s die due to birth complications that could be
> avoided in the USA). So God made you and has plans for your lifeâ€¦ what
> about all those others who died way too premature? This is not a TE or YEC
> question, but a question really posed for all Christians to considerâ€¦ one I
> struggle with too.
>
>
>
> So are you a special case in that God has a plan for you and your life, but
> not for those who die of birth defects? Or is that just a â€œI donâ€™t know and
> Iâ€™ll have to ask God when I get to heavenâ€